Family First

seeing the kids in my family makes me happy.. so when i was thinking of how will i celebrate my graduation, i figured that i want to be with them.. im so happy, my titos really love me, i got a complete attendance of Valentino brothers with their family.. i really had a lot of fun and an incomparable level of happiness..

Papa and Mama

here are the pictures of my parents.. for God knows how many years ago.. haha.. i actually scanned through all the albums we have here to find a nice wedding picture of them.. i wanted to edit it and find a very nice frame, to serve as my anniversary gift for them.. but when i saw these pictures, i can't help but edit and compile all of them..

i'm so blessed to have them as my parents..

wave 8.4.1

happy anniversary guys! oh i love each and everyone of you! hmmwaah!

Tiring But Happy Day

i'm so glad malen and i met today.. we had a very short conversation, but i felt like i was relieved from all the stress that i was feeling lately because of a certain issue.. i guess i just needed someone to listen to me patiently.. u know, i'm not the person who rant and rant every time something happens, sometimes my friends need to ask me pa questions to know the real story.. but there are just some things that i have to let go out of my system for the sake of not getting too fed up..

after seeing my dearest sister, i went to UP to request for a true copy of grades.. i don't actually plan to get one, but since roanne requested me to get hers, i might as well apply one for myself.. i walked from AS to Engg, then Engg to SC and finally SC to Engg.. i got a little tired but i agree with malen, walking in UP also brings me peace..

Melai to Thesis

Want to, but I can’t help it
I love the way it feels,
It’s got me stuck between my fantasy and what is real
I need it when I want it, I want it when I don’t
Tell myself I’ll stop everyday, knowin’ that I won't

I got a problem and I don’t know what to do about it
Even if I did, I don’t know if I would quit but I doubt it
I’m taken by the thought of it, and I know this much is true
Baby, you have become my addiction, I’m so strung out on you
I can barely move but I like it

And it’s all because of you
And it’s all because…
Never get enough,
She’s the sweetest drug

Think of it every second
I can't get nothing done,
Only concern is the next time, I’m gonna get me some
Know I should stay away from, cause it's no good for me
I try and try but my obsession wont let me leave

I got a problem and I don’t know what to do about it
Even if I did, I don’t know if I would quit but I doubt it
I’m taken by the thought of it, and I know this much is true
Baby, you have become my addiction, I’m so strung out on you
I can barely move but I like it

And it’s all because of you (all because of you)
And it’s all because…
Never get enough,
She’s the sweetest drug

Ain’t no doubt, so strung out
Over you, over you, over you

Because of you,
And it’s all because of you,
Never get enough
She’s the sweetest drug, she’s the sweetest drug

JRDC Overnights

thursday (mar26) start ng walang katapusang overnight at jrdc.. this is also my first time to overnight, kc ung dating dapat mag-oovernight kami for presentation, nagbrownout.. haha.. haven't slept at all.. tested malen and pearl's thesis first.. and started the all so dreadful javadocs..

friday (mar 27) still finishing the docus.. had lunch at trinoma first then back to jrdc again.. i slept maybe 4 hours.. finished java docs but still had a lot of docus to do..

sat (mar28) cleaned our source codes.. removed all the System.out.println we had for testing haha.. finished the manual, database schema and functionality list docu.. ate at trinoma and finally went home.. tired and exhausted, i entered my room and slept immediately..

sun (mar29) happy to see my family.. but i know i still have to practice for the demo so i insisted not to go to a mall or eat outside.. kuya was home before lunch.. we ate lunch together.. then kuya and mama went to the grocery, they brought home pizza.. hehe.. me and my brothers had a nice talk while eating pizza.. its like we didn't see each other for months.. hahaha..

monday( mar30) was supposedly the super final presentation.. but to our dismay, there will be a super duper final presentation on thursday because of some changes and bugs found by the advisers.. for our thesis, they found maybe 3-5 bugs and requested a couple of changes more.. right then and there, i knew we will be having another marathon.. and of course, i was right..

tuesday (mar31) i bought two pillows.. i was actually torn between buying one very nice and soft pillow (P279) or two less expensive pillows (P130).. but i decided to just buy the latter, so that i can share the other one.. =) off to jrdc once more and started coding again.. i thought i'm over this part since we already cleaned the source codes and made the java docs.. haay..

wednesday (apr1) after we finished the change request and fixed the bugs, i tested the application again.. unfortunately, i found a number of errors pa.. i was actually disappointed at myself because this is like the Nth time i'm testing the application.. why didn't i found these beforehand, why only now that we have less than 24 hours to go.. oh well, no choice but to code again.. me and malen had a super power nap since we haven't slept at all the previous night., it felt like we slept for 1 hour.. we were really surprised when roanne told us that it was just a 15-minute-nap.. hehe..

thursday (apr2) fortunately, our thesis passed the standards of our advisers.. actually, they just checked if we finished fixing their requests last monday.. hahaha.. now, all we need to do is the thesis paper.. i slept the whole night because i can't stand my headache anymore..

friday (apr3) at last, we finished our thesis paper.. hopefully, it passed their standards too.. its malen and pearl's super duper hyper final presentation.. we all thought it was over.. well, that was until their adviser told them to email the url so that she can test it online.. roanne and i stayed here at jrdc to help them test their thesis..

saturday (apr4) so here i am.. saturday morning.. blogging at jrdc.. =)

LOVE, MAGIC, ILLUSION

pano natin masasabing mahal natin ang isang tao?..

sapat na bang alam natin na gusto natin sya palaging kasama.. na napapatawa ka nia sa panahong malungkot ka.. na nasasandalan mo sya kapag may problema ka.. na handa niang gawin kahit anong iutos mo..


paano ba talaga ipakita ang pagmamahal?

kapag hinigpitan tayo, sasabihin natin, nasasakal tayo...
kapag naman maluwag, sasabihin natin, wala syang pakeelam...


ano nga bang mas tama?

"pag mahal mo, ipaglaban mo"
o
"pag mahal mo, hahayaan mo syang maging masaya kahit hindi sa piling mo"


gaano ka nakakasiguradong mahal mo ang taong kapiling mo ngayon?

sigurado ka bang mahal mo talaga sya.. o bka naman nanghihinayang ka lang sa tagal ng pinagsamahan nio..

kpag sinasabihan mo syang mahal mo sya araw-araw, tinanong mo na ba sa sarili mo, kung totoo pa ba yung sinasabi mo, o baka naman nasanay ka na lang sabihin yun sa kanya..

sigurado ka bang gusto mo talaga syang makasama dahil mahal mo sya, o bka naman dahil natutuwa ka lang sa company nya..

do u really love him? or you just love the IDEA of you, loving him..


LOVE can be MAGIC.. but sometimes... magic is just an ILLUSION..

My Brother's Surprise

about 2 in the afternoon, adrian texted me, "ate, what tym ka uwi? my surprise ako sayo".. and i replied, "basta hindi nakakataba, masaya yan.. haha"..

when i got home, the first thing that i saw was this:yeah.. another addition to my gym equipment collection.. haha..
i had a bad day.. but when i got home, faith reminded me again that if everything fails, my family will always be there to make everything alright and make me smile no matter what..

All Things Bright and Beautiful

I was watching game ka na ba this morning and there was a question about this poem.  All Things Bright and Beautiful plays an important part in my life.. I can still remember the days when I hated it because I find too long to memorize, not to mention I have to act while reciting this poem and once in a while try hard to remember the next line. I remember mama and I was still making last minute changes in my actions, maybe 30 minutes before the competition.. haha.. After the competition, I loved this poem already, yes I won 3rd place.. I think maybe out of 10 or 12 contestants..

I guess I was very active during grade school, joining academic and non-academic competitions. Though, it's rare that mama is there in my competitions, even to the most memorable one, when i won the 1st place in a quiz bee competition, it was my teacher who was on the picture giving my biggest medal.. that's why i love my winning moment in all things bright and beautiful, mama is there and she's very proud..

now i question myself, ano kayang nangyari sakin nung high school? haha.. i took a complete revolution.. no competitions, no medals, no certificates, no leadership responsibilities.. but i don't have any regrets at all.. i enjoyed high school to the fullest.. as in..

anyway, i asked uncle google for the poem all things bright and beautiful...

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset, and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Francis M

i opened my laptop this morning while watching tv.. it happened to be the sis tribute to francis m.. the next thing i know, i'm searching youtube of videos about him.. i wasn't able to watch eat bulaga last saturday and all the videos i found in youtube touched me.. every video made my cry.. especially when i saw the whole eat bulaga family crying while tito, vic and joey was singing the kaleidoscope world.. to my observation, among the tvj, it was bosing vic who is really affected.. another thing worth noting is that when the balloons were flew, it almost formed the philippine map.. maybe kiko, did it..

i'm not a big fan of francis m.. but i really think he did a great job and he was a great man.. its rare to find a nationalistic man these days.. francis m did his best to promote Philippine pride, through his songs and even through his line of clothing.. he was also a great father to 5 equally talented children.. he's daughter unna even said that kiko would always tell her to do what makes her happy and don't waste time on doing something she doesn't like.. francis m, was also a great photographer.. he was so great that he was able to take a shot of baby grasshoppers..

again, its always true that we'll only realize what we have when we already lost it.. before francis m's death, people didn't realize all of these great things about him.. maybe to most people, he was just an out-of-style rapper.. but the truth is, he's more than what people think he is..

anyway, may i just quote the priest who gave the last mass to francis.. francis m,
"RAP IN PEACE"

MOVIE: You Changed My Life

 

laida magtalas: she's willing to give up everything and anything for the love of her life.. tried to understand everything in the name of love.. patience became her friend in her struggle to make their relationship work and surpass the changes.. she loves miggy montenegro so much, she came to a point that she felt miggy is already being unfair to her..

miggy montenegro: without doubt, he loves laida.. he tried to show that love in every possible way he could.. but he's so pressured in his new work that sometimes he makes sarah feel taken for granted.. he's trying his best to be a good son, brother and at the same time boyfriend, but for him it seems that his best is always not enough..

my favorite line and the most important lesson i learned in watching this movie:

"sa pagmamahal, hndi dapat nagsusukatan.. kc kung lahat ng tao magsusukat, wala ng magmamahal.. laging sobra o laging kulang..."
- macoy (rayver cruz)

Life = CS

ang buhay parang program, kelangan maisip mo kung anong tamang algo para maachieve ung mga specs.. syempre dapat ayos lang din ang time complexity nang napili mong algo, kundi mapag-iiwanan ka..

ang isang pangyayari, pag-uugatan ng iba pang mga susunod na kabanata.. parang binary tree.. pero dapat maayos ang mga pointers mo, para kaya mo syang itraverse pabalik at malaman kung anong root ng mga bagay-bagay..

kapag paulit-ulit na lang ang mga nangyayari sa buhay mo, infinite loop na yan.. kelangan mo ng gamitan ng pagttrace at watches yan.. one step at a time lang.. dahan-dahan.. para malaman kung san may mali.. para malagyan ng tamang value ang mga variables sa buhay mo..

minsan naman, nagpapanic tayo agad dahil ayaw mangyari ung gusto natin, eh ang simple lang naman pala ng mali.. parang syntax error lang ayaw ng magcompile.. pero wag din masyadong matuwa kung nagcompile na, minsan ayaw pa ring gumana non.. kung baga sa buhay, tama naman ung ginagawa mo pero parang kulang pa rin..

pero hinay2 lang ha, kc pag sumobra ka naman, baka mamaya ma-index-out-of-bounce ka naman.. o kaya naman null pointer assignment at lalo nang hindi nagcompile ang buhay mo..

meron lang talagang mga bagay na hindi pwedeng madaliin.. hndi katulad ng isang mp na kayang gawin overnight kasama ng mga friends mo.. tipong kelangan muna ng matinding pagpplano.. in cs language: mawindang ka muna sa pagddrawing ng UML at ERD.. bago ang totoong execution..

sundin na lang natin lahat ang golden rule sa CS: resist the urge to code.. magplanong mabuti para hndi mahirapang magcompile.. =)

Cai

 

Cai, i can say is my very first friend in college.. Our friendship started even before the first day of our college life.. We've been exchanging messages in friendster.. and may i just quote
her first message in friendster..

...wala nga rin akong kilala sa department

natin e!!ikaw palang sa ngayon.

sana maging friends tayo...as in real friends and

not just with-wired-communication-only friends!

... ang dami kong knukwento no?

alam mo,kapag nakilala mo ko sa

personal,mapapraning ka saken kasi sobrang daldal

ko!!!hehehe!!

i don't know if its destiny or what.. but even though i didn't have the same math schedule as they have (which at that time determines what block u belong), we ended up being "blockmates".. and true enough, we became friends.. as in real friends as we wished.. hehe..

little that they know, cai is the culprit to why i have the nickname "melai" for college.. she's the first one to call me melai.. maybe she got it from my email ad (melai_0287).. and so she thought that was my nickname.. but no, she just got me a new one when she screamed "melai, ako si erica! sa friendster!" during the first day of class..

cai and i have been the closest of friends and we also had a taste of what it is to be "enemies".. yes, i think the fight lasted for a year or so.. for the details of the misunderstanding, i really don't want to remember and up to this day, i think its still not clear as to where and why it started.. haha..

but i guess its true when they say, true friends will remain friends whatever happen.. right now, she's one of the few people i treasure the most and hold closest to my heart..

Malen

We've met during our first year in college.. We've been through a lot of things together, saw our love life changed, seen the best and the worst of each other, shared happy moments, wiped tears, learned from each other and grow with each other..

 

Birds of the same feather flock together? or Opposites attract? I really don't know.. we shared a lot of things in common but we're also different in a number of ways.. She's very sporty, I'm the girly girly one.. She hates kakanin, I can eat a whole bilao of it.. She's learning how to cook, I can only fry.. she hates dancing, I can spend the night doing just that.. but we both love to eat, shop for clothes, coffee, mang-okray, magrelax and according to her, we practically think the same for about three quarters of everything.

Our friendship has gone a long way (even literally)..

i love you sis!

Unica Hija

 

I'm the only girl in my family but never in my life (as far as I can remember) that I wished for a sister.. I'm really happy to be the unica hija.. I remember when I was a little child, there's only one way to make me cry, and that's to joke me about having a little sister..

Although I didn't get to have a sister (thank God), my brothers are more than enough to make me feel complete and happy.. I must say that their characters are completely opposite.. but I love them just as much..

KUYA is the perfect kuya in the whole wide world.. ok, if you say that nobody is perfect, then he's next to being perfect.. my friends sometimes get envy because I have a kuya like him.. he's sometimes masungit, but he's very kind and generous.

Mama told me that when I was less than one year old, I cried.. kuya (less than 2yo) went to me and tried to give me the milk he's drinking, just to stop me from crying.. until now, I'm still touched everytime I remember that story..

Adrian here is my little brother, but he's always mistaken as my kuya.. he's the wacky one, he never fails to make me laugh.. He may always joke around but he can get very protective sometimes.. hehe.. he's also very malambing.. he has that special charm that words cannot explain..

My tears fell while i was watching the surprise video for my debut, right when I heard him say that I'm the best ate.. =)

 

25 Random Things About Melai

Because my ever dearest sister malen tagged me, I'm starting a new blog to have a place to respond to her tag.. (see sis, that's how much I love you). Also, I think there are many experiences happening in my life that after a few years from now, I want to read back my posts and remember how I felt/thought then.. So what better way to start a new blog than to write 25 things about myself.

1♣ my nicknames: for family-aileen, for hs friends-melissa, for college friends-melai. i'm actually thinking if i'll develop a new nickname for work

2♣ my family and closest friends are my strength and at the same time my weakness.. i couldn't think of anything that i won't be able to do for them

3♣ i'm spoiled by my older brother and i spoil my younger brother.. fair enough.. 

4♣ i love my collection of dangling earrings.. though i don't wear them often nowadays..

5♣ i'm gaining weight right now and i hate myself for not being able to overcome food temptations..

6♣ i can even eat a half gallon of ice cream, straight.

7♣ i have a weird collection of things i tried but can't keep on using.. when i was in grade2, i beg papa to buy me an organ.. when i finished grade school, he bought me another one.. then during highschool, i literally cried for a guitar.. used it for one year then i stopped just because long nails and playing guitars don't match..

8♣ lately, i just realized that i'm on my way to being able to open my own gym.. when i first realize that im gaining weight, i asked papa to buy me an abs sculptor, it was so hard to use that i stop using it after one week.. next to that, i again gave exercise another shot by having a threadmill.. for this one, i blame acads for not being able to use it often.. and finally, last december, me and kuya asked a stationary bike for Christmas.. this latest addition to my "collection" is my personal favorite (for now)..

9♣ i used to have my star collection.. talk about my room filled with glow in the dark stars..

10♣ if i will have a chance to study another course, i will definitely study bs psychology.. i want to know why things are happening and why people are reacting in different ways..

11♣ i reward myself after a hell week or whenever i think i've achieved something

12♣ i believe that happiness is the key to success.. you need to be happy in what you're doing to achieve great results.. smiling makes everything at least a little better..

13♣ when it comes to acads, i can be soooo masipag but also soooo tamad.. depends on the subject and sometimes on the prof..

14♣ sir quiwa taught me to study hard.. to study reeally hard.. also he taught us the most important rule in programming "resist the urge to code"..

15♣ i miss wearing skirts and shorts..

16♣ i actually hate the question "can you tell me more about yourself"

17♣ i never had a relationship that lasted for just less than a year.. its always, one year and n months..
18♣ i can't live without my cellphone

19♣ i want to learn more about photography.. taking pictures is one way of relaxation for me..

20♣ weird as it may sound, i want to visit all the sm in the philippines.. haha..

21♣ i hate wasting my time.. i hate waiting especially if i have more important things to do..

22♣ i dream of becoming sooo rich that i can retire by the age of 40 and travel to different countries..

23♣ my clothes can be sorted out in just 5 colors: blue, pink, green, black and white

24♣ melai had a hard time thinking about 25 random things about herself

25♣ there are only.. hmmm.. maybe 5 persons that know me completely.. without secrets and pretentions..